Dr. Oluyede Ajayi obtained PhD from the University of Hannover in Germany, MSc from University of Ibadan, B.Agric from University of Ife in Nigeria. He is a senior-level, multi-lingual professional offering about 20 years post-doctoral experience spanning research, grant management and contract negotiation, and private sector engagement. He works at the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) based in the Netherlands from where he leads agricultural development and climate change projects for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions. He previously worked as Research Leader/Senior Scientist in three CGIAR Centres (IITA, Africa Rice and ICRAF) and has over one hundred and ninety (190) publications. He won the “Diamond Author Award” in 2007 & 2008 respectively. His publications have attracted interviews with international media including BBC World (Science) and Farm Radio International. He has supervised several PhD students and Masters theses, and has mentored several National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) staff and consultants across ACP. Early in his career, he worked in to strengthen capacity and facilitate access of rural communities to finance in Nigeria. Dr Ajayi is a Designated Contact Point (DCP) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC); Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of “Climate Research for Development” (CR4D) of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) & World Meteorological Organization (WMO); Fellow of the University of Leiden Netherlands; Member of the Advisory Board of Brazil-Africa Institute. He has lived and carried out research and development activities in several countries in Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, West Africa, Europe and, has managed research/development portfolios in several countries within ACP. He is committed ensuring that research contributes to policy and development planning. He is highly proficient in Yoruba, English and French languages, and speaks fair German and Dutch.
